Carried, and glad you did...

Active Member

So Im curious about something. Ive recently got my carry permit but im not sure how much I want to or need to carry. Up to this point I havent really run into any significant danger. After several break ins in my neighborhood and a job that involves moving expensive audio equipment into and out of my car in a bit of a sketchy neighborhood i thought I better get educated and licensed which I have.

Id love to hear some accounts from those of you who carry regularly and have had to actually draw your weapon or at least have been at the ready to draw. Im interested in 1st person accounts, not stories from your friends, family, or the news. I always read that you need to be prepared for what could happen. Id love to hear stories about something that did happen and you were glad you were ready.

Well-Known Member

Do not draw until you are sure your life is in danger, remember there is only one thing a weapon can make anyone do, die.
That being said, I have carried for years and have never had occasion to draw. Please do not go looking for trouble, avoid confrontation if at all possible, only draw your weapon to defend your life or some one elses.

Active Member

Of course, that point was repeated over and over in ccw class and on all the forums I read and I fully understand. Im not a trouble maker, im a family man and want to protect them and myself. The question is merely a survey of those of you who have carried, like yourself for many years. It seems like a large effort to carry everyday and Im respectfully wondering, is it worth it?

Active Member

I lived in Detriot for three years... I never drew it put had it pretty handy when speeding away from a possible carjacking. I'm only calling it possible because I did not hang out to figure out what the BG was doing with a pipe next to my truck down town.
Plan and train for the worst, carry always and pray you never need it.
Stay safe,

Active Member

I don't think it is a large effort. I personally dont think you can place a value on personal protection. It is a choice that I made years ago and god forbid I ever need to use my weapon. You can never know when you will need to have a pistol for protection. That is the reason that I carry all the time. You can be doing (what you consider) the safest thing in the world and have all **** break loose. I hope that I never have a story to tell of a time when I needed to pull my weapon. It would most likely end in a death or serious injury. I too am interested to hear storys from members though.

Well-Known Member

Of course, that point was repeated over and over in ccw class and on all the forums I read and I fully understand. Im not a trouble maker, im a family man and want to protect them and myself. The question is merely a survey of those of you who have carried, like yourself for many years. It seems like a large effort to carry everyday and Im respectfully wondering, is it worth it?

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I carry every day.... I have never needed to draw the gun and I hope I never have to.It is not a large effort to carry after awhile you don't evan know its there. But the one time you need it it is there and you never know when that time will come.

Active Member

Let me add this to the discussion. Im 46 and havent even thought of owning a handgun until recently, well thats not true. I bought a gun when I lived in Mpls in an apartment and the woman above me got the window to her bedroom busted and was raped at knifepoint. The next day I was at the shop buying a .32. I had no idea how to use it and it sat in a hiding spot for its entire life in Mpls and here, never shot. I never took the time to learn how to use it. Recently when we have had a series of break ins in my neighborhood I figured it was time to revisit my idea of personal defense and I took shooting classes, took the ccw class and got the license and I spend time practicing on a weekly basis.

What caused you to decide to carry on a daily basis? What was that A HA moment?

Well-Known Member

It seems like a large effort to carry everyday and Im respectfully wondering, is it worth it?

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It is. It's a hassle to carry every day. The problem is you don't know when and where you might need to defend youself. If you could you would just stay away that day and wouldn't need to get a carry permit at all. If you aren't the world's greatest psychic, it's better just to carry all the time and be prepared. It's not limited to buying a gun, belt, holster, and getting a carry permit either. You need to increase situational awareness to avoid potential problems or spot them in time to react (look up colonel cooper's color code). You need to practice and train to decrease your draw time and increase your accuracy (the saying every bullet that leaves your gun has a lawyer attached to it). If you aren't prepared for all that then being armed might not be for you. It's not for everyone.
It's a hassle and a change of lifestyle but it only takes one event to make it all worthwhile (you stay alive). If you are in search of statistics you'll find most people never have to draw their gun, much less shoot someone, in their lifetime. The same goes for cops. The odds are you'll never need it. In my opinion it's not about the odds, it's about the stakes. Your life is at stake (or your wife, child, other loved one, etc) and by carrying every day and training for defense you are taking on the responsibility and ability to defend their lives or your own when the police aren't around to help. Are you up for that?

Member

I've had a gun pulled on me, it was some nutcase with serious road rage, he pulled some kind of rifle or shotgun out from behind his pickup seat at a red light, luckily I was the front car and adrenaline kicked in and I burned through that light, had I been in a different position and not been able to get away I could have been shot at a traffic light. From that day on I carried in my vehicle, and now I carry on my person when out and about pretty often it's not really a pain unless im trying on clothes or going to the post office, I don't notice my iwb holster and g29 at all even while driving

CurmudgeonSilver Supporter2015 Volunteer

Got my CHL because of ongoing drama with my wife's friend, whose ex-husband has threatened to kill her and anyone who helps her. I also got tired of trying to decipher when and where and how the law says to transport my pistols in the car.

I feel a lot more comfortable meeting someone from Craigslist to buy or sell something now. Dark parking lots in the wee hours of the morning don't bother me much now either. Riding MAX is no longer an exercise in paranoia. There are benefits to carrying every day.

Well-Known Member

I'm not going to make this an essay and go into details ad nauseum, but there have been three times in my life that carrying a firearm kept me from being potentially robbed, beaten, or worse. All three times I didn't have to shoot my gun, nor did I have to draw my gun. In all three occasions, I just had to use a commanding voice, take an aggressive body stance and place my hand on the butt of my pistol and the person(s) threatening me thought better of it and left in great haste.

That was my goal. I hope I never have to shoot anyone as long as I live. One thing I have learned after carrying a firearm for many years is that when at all possible I try not to put myself in environments or into positions where I might be likely to have to use a firearm to protect myself. That said, I am prepared to use my firearm to protect myself or my loved ones.

You have to make the decision if you want to take the responsibility of carrying a firearm to protect yourself. If you're the type of person that is quick to anger or pick a fight, please don't carry a firearm. If your goal is to carry a firearm as an absolute last ditch solution if you or your loved ones are in danger of great bodily harm or death, then train, train, train, and hope the day never comes when you have to use that training, but be ready to use it if it does.

Well-Known Member

Recently I came home about 3am, it was during January so you know how pitch black everything can get, luckily in my neighborhood, the street lamp shines on very corner of my drive way, which causes the entrance to my home to be completely dark, I've carried for 3 years regularly, as in, I had a gun on me except for days when I went into a Post Office/DMV or whatever government building. Anyways, I get out of my car and my eyes fix on the lavender bush I have infront of my sitting room window which is to the left of the entrance to my home, its shaking, theres no wind around me and its shaking pretty nicely from side to side, since this was my home, my land and i'm about 8 feet away from it, I yell out "Get up and get out" bush stops moving and I draw out my XD45 with surefire X300 and did a quick blip of the light, didn't see anything, so I put the light to constant on mode, slowly walked up, shine my light directly into the base of the lavender and see two cats cuddling in the branches of the bush. This story causes big smiles and laughs from my buddies even until now. But at that time, my heart was beating out of my chest so I did what I was suppose to do.

Well-Known Member

A long time ago I was parking my car in downtown Portland and an aggressive panhandler picked me out to ask for money. After repeated denials he got very agitated and threatened me and started to come toward me. I brushed back my jacket and put my hand on my revolver, a S&W 940 9mm. He backed off but continued his tirade so I got back in my car and went home.
I probably would not have drawn it if he continued but I liked knowing I had it. I went for it as a reaction to a threat and maybe I escalated the situation more than legally warranted but it all worked out in the end.

Well-Known Member

I was headed home from a monthly shooting match and a friend had borrowed my .32 to give it a try a few weeks earlier. He had returned it to me after the match and I had checked to see if the gun was loaded - (full mag but none in the chamber) and put it in my jacket pocket. I had shot the match with my regular carry gun and put it in the case empty per that range's rules and since I planed on cleaning it when I got home and didn't plan any other stops along the way. A few minutes later I got a call from a friend who asked me to stop by. On the way there I stopped off at the 7-11 to grab a soda and while in the back corner of the store filling my drink a group of mid eastern looking guys walked in and almost immediately a brawl broke out - apparently they were gang bangers who didn't get along with some other gang bangers in the store. I stood there watching the dozen or so go at it swinging at each other and grabbing stuff off the shelves throwing it at each other. It was almost comical - at this point I was just a spectator taking in who was where and who was fighting with who... as far as I was concerned they were only beating the snot out of each other and no one else was involved so any beating they got was their reward for being in a gang... a few of them spilled into the parking lot and continued to fight throwing the small bundles of firewood and big trash cans at each other and then slow motion set in as one guy yelled - no kidding - "I'm gonna get my gat" as he ran out the door. My first reaction was to rack the slide on my .32 while it was still in my jacket pocket. I looked around more carefully now looking to see if anyone else was pulling a gun. I noticed that the bangers were still brawling and everyone else had gone into "victim" mode and was hiding behind the counters and the ends of the isles. Fortunately the guy never came back in and the fights slowly moved out into the parking lot with no guns ever being pulled. As I left the cops were showing up and trying to round up the stragglers that hadn't gotten into cars and left before they arrived.
Lucky for me I didn't have to pull my gun let alone shoot to defend myself or anyone else.
I had been into this store approximately 3 times a week for over two years with out ever feeling like I would have needed a gun at that location as it was a pretty decent part of town. If nothing else this was a learning experience - I learned that the big biker looking guy that worked there had the victim mentality as he was hiding on the floor behind the counter and that the person that called the cops was an employee that was in the cooler stocking the shelves that no one had seen, I also learned that it is best to stay calm as you can and be sure you HAVE to draw your weapon to protect yourself or another person's life, and most importantly that you never know when or where an incident will occur so it is best to carry all of the time instead of picking and choosing when to carry based on where you are planing on going for the day.
I am fairly certain that had I drawn my weapon even if the guy returned brandishing his I would have spent the rest of the night and possibly the weekend in jail waiting for the cops and the DA to review the security videos and verify that it was a justified situation and cut me loose. To this day I feel I was fortunate that I didn't have to draw or fire my weapon.

Completely Out of Ammo

I couldn't imagine carrying a gun at all times. My car keys and mobile phone are bad enough. I might go the CHL route for the reason above though. Feeling more at ease transporting guns to/from the range.

There are no stories about having a gun on your person and how it really paid off because the real odds of that are about .001%. All the above examples could have been deterred with a Kimber double whammy 90mph pepper spray, or better yet common sense and retreat. Plus the odds of going to jail or being sued if you ever pull the trigger just isn't worth it at all. Post SHTF all those things change of course and CHL or no CHL won't be an issue.

Well-Known Member

You know what? You are right I didn't answer the OP.
Why I decided to CC- I am 57, and while I am not infirm or a cripple, I do not believe I am physically capable (or want to) engage in fisticuffs with some one half my age. The last time I came out a winner, with a constant ringing in my ears and a portion of my face and jaw permanently numb. Next time?

I like to think I present an imposing figure, but all this white hair......oh well

Well-Known Member

You know what? You are right I didn't answer the OP.
Why I decided to CC- I am 57, and while I am not infirm or a cripple, I do not believe I am physically capable (or want to) engage in fisticuffs with some one half my age. The last time I came out a winner, with a constant ringing in my ears and a portion of my face and jaw permanently numb. Next time?

I like to think I present an imposing figure, but all this white hair......oh well

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I'm right there with ya bud and about the same age, but without the white hair. There's a saying. "Never pick a fight with an old man. If he's too old to fight, he'll just kill you."

Member

When concealed carry came to Oregon in a big way I got the permit. I carried a Star Firestar in the back pocket of my blue jeans.
After lots of practice I could draw and fire a double tap into a paper plate about six or eight yards away. I was bragging about this
to a friend. He was right up front with his opinion with,
&#8220;That&#8217;s pretty stupid.&#8221;
&#8220;Whada ya mean?&#8221;
&#8220;If I think there&#8217;s gonna be trouble I would just get it out.&#8221;
A few weeks later my wife and I were taking an early morning walk. It was about 3:30AM.
There was enough light in the neighborhood to easily see. Three youths started across the
street directly at us. Without brandishing the pistol I pulled the .40 out and held it straight
down at my side. Immediately the three youths returned to their side of the street and
walked down the block in the opposite direction.

Maybe they were frightened by a crazy old man. Or maybe they realized we were not
going to be victims. Either way I was fine with the results.

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